UNCOVERED PICKS: Five new releases for the New Year

Monday, 5 January 2015

Now that the holiday season is over, we've been focusing on the new year. After all, new year - new reads! There are many exciting new novels due for release in January, and it's been difficult to select just five. But the reading list is certainly going to be full, with new releases from Jill Mansell, Fiona Gibson, and a haunting tale from Kate Riordan.

When I Met You by Jemma ForteMarianne Baker is happy. Sort of. She's worked at the same job for years (nearly 15, but who's counting), she lives at home with her mum (who is driving her crazy) and sleeps in a single bed (yep, her love life is stalled). Playing the violin is her only real passion - but nobody like her does that for a living. Then one nighteverything changes. The father who abandoned Marianne over twenty years ago turns up on her doorstep, with a dark secret that changes her life forever. Suddenly Marianne's safe, comfortable world is shattered. If her father isn't the man she thought he was, then who is he? And, more to the point, who is she? It's time to find out who the real Marianne Baker is.

The Girl in the Photograph by Kate RiordanWhen Alice Eveleigh arrives at Fiercombe Manor during the long, languid summer of 1933, she finds a house steeped in mystery and brimming with secrets. Sadness permeates its empty rooms and the isolated valley seems crowded with ghosts, none more alluring than Elizabeth Stanton whose only traces remain in a few tantalisingly blurred photographs. Why will no one speak of her? What happened a generation ago to make her vanish? As the sun beats down relentlessly, Alice becomes ever more determined to unearth the truth about the girl in the photograph - and stop her own life from becoming an eerie echo of Elizabeth's...

As Good As It Gets? by Fiona Gibson“Midlife crisis? WHAT midlife crisis?!”Charlotte Bristow is worried about her husband Will. Their fourteen years of marriage have been rather lovely so far, but things have been a bit odd lately.With their stunning 16-year-old daughter Rosie newly signed to a top modelling agency and Will recently out of a job, Charlotte can’t help but notice that things are changing in their household.As Will dusts down his old leather trousers and starts partying with their new, fun neighbours, Charlotte begins to wonder what on earth is going on.So when Fraser, Charlotte’s ex – and father of Rosie – suddenly arrives back on the scene, Charlotte starts to wonder what might have been…

Don't Mention the Rock Star by Bree DarcyThey fell in love in an instant … so why have they spent a lifetime apart? As a teenager Kellie dated an American boy but circumstances meant they went their separate ways. Now he’s back and she’s so tempted to see him again. But two decades have passed and they are both married with children. And the last thing a celebrity reporter like her needs is the world finding out about her past relationship with a rock star. Especially as Kellie’s husband doesn’t even know she once dated AJ Dangerfield, lead singer of legendary band Danger Game. And she has no intention of him finding out. EVER. As Kellie deals with a demanding boss, a bullied son, an infuriating mother-in-law and a best friend who won’t act her age, she finds herself playing a dangerous game. What will happen if her two worlds collide? And is it possible that first love never fades?

Three Amazing Things About You by Jill MansellHallie has a secret. She's in love. He's perfect for her in every way, but he's seriously out of bounds. And her friends aren't going to help her because what they do know is that Hallie doesn't have long to live. Time is running out...Flo has a dilemma. She really likes Zander. But his scary sister won't be even faintly amused if she thinks Zander and Flo are becoming friends - let alone anything more. Tasha has a problem. Her new boyfriend is the adventurous type. And she's afraid one of his adventures will go badly wrong. THREE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT YOU begins as Hallie goes on a journey. A donor has been found and she's about to be given new lungs. But whose?